Horizontal Packaging Machine With Metal Detection-Removal Function

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a packaging machine making the package out of foil, and closing it by longitudinal and transversal welding or sealing that performs, besides packaging, also the identification (detection) and removal/scrapping of those among the packages that contain metal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the §371 National Stage Entry of International Patent Application PCT/HU2014/000022, filed on Mar. 5, 2014, which claims the benefit of Hungarian Patent Application P 1300269, filed on Mar. 1, 2012, the contents of which applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an apparatus for packaging of piece-goods with a metal detecting and removing function.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Checking packaged products by metal detector and removing, scrapping packages containing metal pollutants is becoming a general requirement in the food industry nowadays. This requirement is currently met by installing a metal detection/removal machine as a standalone machine in the production line after the packaging machine that usually comprises: a platform structure, a self-powered conveyor belt mounted on it, comprising a section of appropriate length containing no metallic part, a metal detection device, also mounted on it, and a structure removing any packages with metal content. The two machines are operated together, so that the piece-goods packaged by the packaging machine are moved from the delivery conveyor belt of the packaging machine to the conveyor belt of the metal detection/removal machine, passing the metal detector device of the machine, and any package containing metal pollutants is removed from the conveyor belt by a removing structure, usually a pneumatic blow-off or push-off structure operated by a control signal originating from the metal detector device, whereas the compliant packages move on to the place of the next operation.

For example, a metal detection/removal machine of type ARGUS manufactured by ELMED GmbH is installed as a standalone machine in the technological line after the horizontal machine packaging piece-goods in foil of type LINEPACK manufactured by BUDAGÉP Kft. Thus the functions of packaging, metal detection and removal are performed by a group of machines comprising two standalone machines, in the following way:

the two machines have independent, separate machine frames, geared product conveyors, the two machines have their respective independent controls, and thus the two machines are started and stopped and the speeds of their respective conveyor belts are regulated separately.

Another example is US 2012/0151887A disclosing a mobile plant for dosing, mixing and packaging, according to which the plant concerned is meant to dose, mix and package materials in “powdery, granulated or equivalent form”, and its equipment, comprising a sack-filling, a sack-sewing and a metal-detecting section, is mounted in a container. It can be established from the description that:

the machines of the plant, including the sack-filling machine, the sack-sewing machine and the metal-detecting machine, are individual machines that have their independent structural units, i.e. own standalone frame, transmission structure and drive, from among the parts of the plant, the container actually corresponds to a mobile building, with the machines making up the plant being fastened to its flooring, as in any building, so the container cannot be interpreted as the “common frame” of the machines of the plant, since the respective own machine frames of the machines of the plant are retained unmodified, in the plant, the sack-filling—sack-sewing—labelling machine and the metal detection equipment have no common structural part, as stated by sentence 0082 of the description: “After the sacks are closed and labelled, they are put on a conveyor belt operated by a gear motor . . . ”, the container fulfilling the role of building cannot be regarded as common structural part, the use of the “central control station” according to claim 13 of the specification is general practice in plants comprising several machines, that does not exclude that the machines of the plant have their own controls, so the “central control station” synchronises the operation of the machines of the plant, instead of operating them.

The method described in the above examples, that is, the use of a standalone machine for packaging and a standalone one for metal detection/removal is not only the general, but also the exclusive method today. The reason for that is that machines for packaging of piece-goods and machines for metal detection/removal, respectively, are currently present in the market only as standalone machines. One disadvantage of this situation is that two high-value machines need to be procured and operated, another one is that the plant area occupied by the two standalone machines is relatively large, and a further disadvantage is that their drives have separate controls, so their operation is not automatically synchronised.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to eliminate the above-listed drawbacks by integrating the two standalone machines described above by mounting their structural parts needed for the operations of packaging and metal detection/removal on the frame of the packaging machine as common frame in the arrangement according to the invention, excluding from among their structural parts any superfluous duplications and unifying the drives of the two machines in the controls of the packaging machine.

The invention is based on the recognition that the structures of the traditional piece-goods packaging machine and the traditional metal detection/removal machine comprise superfluous duplications of structural parts present already in the other machine, and by excluding those and mounting the remaining structural parts of the two machines on one frame in the arrangement according to the invention a new packaging machine can be produced that performs, besides the packaging function of the traditional piece-goods packaging machines, also the metal detection/removal function of the traditional metal detection/removal machines in a single machine.

A preferred embodiment of the packaging machine with metal detection/removal function according to the invention is shown on the basis of the drawing, and it is compared to the arrangement of the structural parts of the traditionally used standalone packaging machine and standalone metal detecting/removing machine. In the attached drawings:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the horizontal packaging machine with metal detection/removal function according to the invention in front view, with the schematic representation of the structural units of the machine, and

FIG. 2 shows a general exemplary embodiment of a prior art standalone horizontal packaging machine and the standalone metal detecting/removing machine in front view, with the schematic representation of the structural parts of the machines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows the horizontal packaging machine with metal detection/removal function according to the invention that comprises, among other structural parts mounted on a packaging machine frame 1, a package making/closing/separating structure 2, operated under the control of a controller 3 of the packaging machine. A detection conveyor belt 4 including a specially designed section of a predefined length comprising no metallic part, driven by a drive 5 controlled by the controller 3 of the packaging machine is mounted on the section of packaging machine frame 1 after the package making/closing/separating structure 2. A metal detecting device 7 is mounted on the same part of packaging machine frame 1, with a vibration damper 6 being interposed so that the detection conveyor belt 4, that is also the package delivering conveyor belt of the packaging machine, will be led through it. A non-compliant package removing structure 8 controlled by a signal of the metal detecting apparatus 7 is mounted on the section of packaging machine frame 1 after the metal detecting apparatus 7.

The horizontal piece-goods packaging machine a metal detecting and removing function according to FIG. 1 operates in the following way: under the control of the controller 3 the package-making/closing/separating structure 2 makes packages that will be closed by welding or sealing and separated from each other. Products A packaged this way, not checked by a metal detector, are moved from the package-making/closing/separating structure 2 to the detection conveyor belt 4 that transports them through the metal detector device 6 that checks the metal content of the packages. Where the metal detecting apparatus 7 detects metal pollutants in the package being checked, it outputs a control signal to the non-compliant package removing structure 8 that removes the package containing metal pollutants from the detection conveyor belt 4. Products B having passed the metal detecting apparatus 7, packaged and checked by the metal detecting apparatus 7, are forwarded by the detection conveyor belt 4 to the place of the following operation prescribed by the related technology. The package-making/closing/separating structure 2 and the detection conveyor belt 4 of the packaging machine controlled by the control unit 3 of the packaging machine are operated synchronously with each other and in one direction, as indicated by the arrow.

The structure of the traditionally used combination of the standalone horizontal packaging machine and standalone metal detecting/removing machine shown in FIG. 2 is typically the following:

Besides several other structural parts, package making/closing/separating structure 2 operating under the control of the packaging machine controller 3 is mounted on packaging machine frame 1 of the packaging machine. A package delivering conveyor belt 9 driven by a package delivering conveyor belt engine 10 is mounted on the section of packaging machine frame 1 after the package making/closing/separating structure 2. The metal detecting/removing machine is installed in a standalone form after the packaging machine that is generally designed so that the detection conveyor belt 4 of special design, containing no metallic part over a section of a specified length, driven by a drive 5 controlled by a controller of the detection conveyor belt 12, is mounted on a metal detecting/removing machine frame 11. A metal detecting apparatus 7 is mounted on metal detecting/removing machine frame 11 with the insertion of vibration damper 6 so that the detection conveyor belt 4 is led through it. A non-compliant package removing structure 8 controlled by the signal of the metal detecting structure 7 is mounted on the section of the metal detecting/removing machine frame 11 after the metal detector structure 7. The standalone packaging machine and standalone metal detecting/removing machine according to FIG. 2 have their respective own controllers the operation of which is not synchronised.

A comparison of the above-described exemplary embodiments of the packaging machine according to the invention shown in FIG. 1 and the standalone packaging machine and standalone metal detecting/removing machine shown in FIG. 2 shows that, by using the horizontal piece-goods packaging machine with metal detection/removal function according to the invention as opposed to the standalone packaging machine and standalone metal detecting/removing machine according to the traditional method, it is possible to spare the following structural parts:

-   9 package delivering conveyor belt, -   10 package delivering conveyor belt engine, -   11 metal detecting/removing machine frame, -   12 control of the detection conveyor belt, -   and thanks to the joint control of the     package-making/closing/separating structure and the detection     conveyor belt, all structural parts will automatically operate     synchronously.

Using the packaging machine with metal detection/removal function according to the invention has several economic advantages: 1. due to the smaller number of structural units, it can be produced for less than the combination of the standalone packaging machine and standalone metal detection/removal machine, of identical use value; 2. thanks to the smaller number of driven units, its use is concurrent with the consumption of less energy; 3. its structural length and hence installation area is smaller thanks to the lower number of structural parts and the one common frame instead of two standalone ones is smaller than the structural length and installation area of the combination of a standalone packaging machine and a standalone metal detecting/removing machine; 4. thanks to the joint control of the drives, the synchronicity the packaging and metal detection operations is automatically ensured.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 packaging machine frame -   2 package-making/closing/separating structure -   3 packaging machine controller -   4 detection conveyor belt -   5 detection conveyor belt drive -   6 vibration damper -   7 metal detecting apparatus -   8 non-compliant package removing structure -   9 package delivering conveyor belt -   10 package delivering conveyor belt engine -   11 metal detecting/removing machine frame -   12 detection conveyor belt controls -   A: packaged product not checked by metal detector -   B: packaged product checked by metal detector -   → travel direction of the products 

1. A horizontal packaging machine with metal detection/removal function that makes packages from foil, closing them and separating them from each other by its package-making/closing/separating structure, checks the metal content of the packages and removes the packages that are found to contain metal from among the other packages; that wherein a detection conveyor belt comprising no metallic part along an appropriate structural length is mounted instead of the usual package delivering conveyor of the packaging machine, at the usual place thereof, on the packaging machine frame that also delivers the packaged products from the packaging machine, and with the insertion of a vibration damper, a metal detector device is also mounted on the machine frame, through which the detection conveyor belt is led, and a structure designed to remove any non-compliant packages found to contain metal from the detection conveyor belt so that the speed of the detection conveyor belt is synchronised with the packaging speed by the controller of the packaging machine, as a result of which the automatic synchronisation of the packaging and the metal detection/removal functions is ensured.
 2. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein only the forward branch of the detection conveyor belt goes through the metal detecting device, whereas the returning one goes back under the metal detector device.
 3. The packaging machine according to claim 1, wherein the detection conveyor belt receives its drive from the package making/sewing/separating structure of the packaging machine and so it does not comprise the separately controlled detector belt drive. 